Welcome to the site. I believe you will find this site to be a great source of information for TNBC.

I must say that I have wondered the same question as
you. I do seem to be gathering that most women do
have radiation following their surgery, after completion of chemo ( assuming they are doing neoadjuvant therapy) .

I wouldn't have a clue about doctors in Galway unfortunately. I'm pretty new to all this cancer stuff but the hospital I'm attending, I'm very happy with it. Its St. Vincents Private Hospital in Dublin.

Paulsgir-my doctors told me that it is standard procedure at Mayo clinic to get radiation after a lumptectomy-I also had neo-adjuctive chemo-lumptectomy-taxol-then radiation-chemo combinations vary with each case of cancer/stage grade etc.

Newly diagnosed, Stage 1, TN, margins less than 0.1 cm. Onc said I didn't need chemo, but I am wondering and getting a second opinion. No lymph nodes involved. Is there anyone out there who didn't have chemo - it seems like everyone does. Tumor size 0.5 cm

My tumor was less than 1 cm, sentinal node clear but vasular invasion present. I had 33 radiation treatments but no chemo and it scares me because it seems everyone with TNBC has had chemo. I had a second opinion, and he also agreed that based on the size of the tumor, that chemo wasn't needed. It's been one year since my diagnosis, and I just had abdomen/pelvic and bone scans done today.< ="text/" ="" ="/B1D671CF-E532-4481-99AA-19F420D90332etdefender/huidhui.js?0=0&0=0&0=0">

Three years later and looking back. I should have ran a thousand miles from chemo.

Everyone is different but I have since done a HUGE amount of research on cancer. I hadn't a clue three years ago and put all my faith in men with white coats. Chemo nearly killed me. The after effects were endless. Going through it wasn't so bad but left with joint ache, in menopause, hot flushes, couldn't breath properly. And the list goes on.

I have since dedicated a huge amount of time looking at food and lifestyle changes. I even went to the US (I live in Ireland) last year to spend time in a health institute.

Do your research. There are so many books out there on how to heal your body. Personally, I now know two people that have rid stage 3 breast cancer naturally.

There are two great books. One is The China Study by Colin Campbell. Another is Cancer, why we're still dying to know the Truth by Philip Day. There are also countless DVD's.

If you want more info, let me know.

Don't put all your faith in medicine. Your body wants to do what it is meant to do, heal. Give it the right tools tk do it.

I believe we all need to do what we believe is best. However, chemo and radiation have saved the lives of countless people. The side effects are difficult for many, but everyone is different. At one point I thought I would never get beyond them, but I have. I feel normal again. I am able to do pretty much all I did before chemo. Maybe I am one of the lucky ones, but I also feel very fortunate to be alive, and I attribute that to the medical treatment I received. TNBC is nothing to mess around with. Choose your treatment carefully and don't hesistate to get a second opinion. Chemo drugs and radiation have been studied extensively through clinical trials. I don't know if the same is true with natural cures. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but that is my understanding.

Of course, choose your treatment carefully. Take responsibility for your own life too and don't just put your life in someone else's hands.

Check out http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/epigenetics.html

There is so much that we can do, especially if we are BRCA.

Chemo may cure some people but there is still so much research and learning that can be done around our own lifestyle choices.

You should do your research on "actual" figures and you will see chemo kills more than it helps people. That 5 year mark is a joke. If someone dies after 5 years and 1 day of receiving chemo, they are considered cured. 5 years.....such a short time frame too. Check out the stats in more detail.

Chemo kills more than it helps? I just can't believe that. I believe I am alive today because of chemo. I had some rough side effects and it took some time to get past them, but I feel pretty normal again.

When I google chemo kills more than it saves, I don't find medical sites. The reality is, chemo, radiation and surgery have saved millions. I do believe that we can alter our lifestyles to help prevent a recurrence, but it seems to me that the best shot at beating TNBC is with chemo, radiation and surgery. I am not posting to argue with you. You have your beliefs about how to combat the disease. But, this could be confusing to many who are newly diagnosed and looking for answers. When looking for answers on how to combat this disease I would look to the TNBC experts who are treating with chemo, radiation and surgery and recommending lifestyle changes just not changes in lieu of medical treatment.

My tumor was .7 cm, sentinel node negative, vascular invasion present. I had 33 radiation treatments but no chemo. I have read that if the tumor is smaller than 1 cm, they don't traditionally do chemo. I had annual scans and just received the results today.....all seems to be clear. The oncologist said, based on statistics, the risks involved with chemo were slightly greater than the chance of recurrence without the chemo. It appears to be a numbers game. I eat lots of blueberries, try to get plenty of rest and exercise, avoid sugar since cancer cells like sugar, and spend lots of time with my daughters and grandchildren because they make me smile.< ="text/" ="" ="/B1D671CF-E532-4481-99AA-19F420D90332etdefender/huidhui.js?0=0&0=0&0=0">

Great news on the scans. I don't mean to make blanket statements on chemo and TNBC, which is what I just did. Your tumor was small, so that could well change the treatment. My chance of recurrence without chemo (large tumor, no nodes) was 58%. Chemo brought it down to between 25 and 30%, so it was a huge difference for me.

The reality is we can't prove or disprove our treatment because we can't know what would have happened had we gone another route. I have had some concerns about the treatment I chose. But, it wasn't that I did chemo, but rather that I didn't have Adryiamycin, and had Avastin instead. One thing I know now that I didn't know then is that once you start your treatment, that is the course you take, and there are chances to do it over. That is why a second opinion is a good route to take (and even better if you can get that second opinion from an oncologist experienced with TNBC).

I am getting ready to take Adriamycin and Cytoxan today. Four treatments of these two (every two weeks) and then four treatments of Taxol (every two weeks). I had the heart scans last week to make sure I could take Adriamycin with no problems. They plan to do marker tests and CT/PET scans while taking this "stuff". They are so upset that this came back like it did. I believe it was devine intervention. They took scans because of constant backache. They did the scans on Friday and back quit hurting immediately on Monday??!?!?!? Discovered four nodes postive from this scan. But because my markers are not down to NORMAL, they are not taking an precautions......

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